On Our Own
by Meg Rider
Summary: Modern Day: Megara and Vanessa are living on their own for the first time and struggling to get by. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This chapter is a little slow and I apologize. It's pretty much just the introduction. Please stick with it, it'll get better..._

"Call us if you need anything," Mrs. Benson said, hugging her daughter for the twentieth time.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "I will, mom."

Mr. Benson caught Vanessa rolling her eyes and gave her his signature "watch yourself" warning look. Vanessa avoided her father's glare as she pulled away from her mom.

"It's not too late to change your mind," Mr. Sidney said.

"Yes it is, Dad," Meg said.

Mr. Sidney gave his daughter a big hug. "Keep in touch."

"I will."

Meg and Vanessa hugged their parents one last time before ushering them out the door. Vanessa quickly locked the door behind them and sighed.

Vanessa leaned against the door. "Finally!"

Meg looked around their new apartment. It was a cozy apartment, but small; and with all of their furniture, it looked even smaller.

"I sorted the boxes, according to the room they belong in, as they were being unloaded," Vanessa said. "We should start by unpacking the living room boxes so we'll have a path to the door."

Meg nodded, suddenly very overwhelmed by all of the boxes in the tiny apartment. Vanessa sat down on the loveseat sofa and opened one of the boxes. It was full of dark art from roses and dead forests, to Gothic castles and full moons. Both Vanessa and Meg were really into that kind of art and agreed it would be the central theme for the decorations in their apartment. Vanessa set the art on the coffee table and broke down the box. Meg knelt down next to the sofa and opened the box closest to her; it was full of DVDs. She picked up the box and set it down in front of the bookcase next to the TV. The girls couldn't afford cable, so they knew they'd be watching a lot of movies in their spare time. That was okay with them, though; they both loved movies. They even had several framed movie posters to hang up in their bedroom.

After they finished unpacking, they arranged all of their DVDs in alphabetical order on the bookcase. When they were done with that, they began hanging the art up on the living room walls. However, there wasn't enough wall space and some of it had to be hung in the hallway. Meg looked around the living room and smiled. The little apartment was starting to look like their home.

It took the girls all day to unpack the rest of their stuff and they were exhausted by the time nightfall came around. Vanessa collapsed on the bed. When Meg finished hanging her clothes in the hallway closet, she sat down next to Vanessa.

"Are you hungry?" Meg asked.

"Yes, but we don't have any food," Vanessa replied. "Or any money."

Meg groaned and fell back on the bed. "I can't believe we can't even afford to eat."

Vanessa nodded. "But, our apartment looks good."

Meg smiled at her best friend. "Yeah it does."

"Well, we should probably get to bed soon since we start our new jobs tomorrow," Vanessa said.

Vanessa crawled over to her side of the bed and pulled the blanket over her, not bothering to change out of her clothes. Meg put on her pajamas and then got into bed as well. She set her alarm so she'd be able to get Vanessa up on time in the morning. Vanessa was a heavy sleeper and always slept through her alarm, so she just stopped setting it altogether. She was often late to work and that usually resulted in her getting fired. Now that the girls were on their own, it was really important that they keep their jobs. Meg had decided it would be best if she just woke Vanessa up.

x…x…x…x…x

_No way that was eight hours, _Meg thought as she lied in bed listening to her alarm go off. She groaned and reached over to turn it off. She rolled over and gently shook Vanessa.

"I'm awake," Vanessa muttered.

"You gotta get ready for work," Meg said.

Vanessa dragged herself out of bed and stumbled out into the bathroom. While Vanessa was in the shower, Meg made the coffee. When the coffee was done, Meg poured some into Vanessa's travel mug and handed it to her as she rushed out the door. Meg poured herself a cup of coffee, but only took a couple sips before dumping it down the sink. She didn't really like coffee; she just needed a little bit to wake her up.

After Meg took a shower and got ready, she started walking to work. Luckily, the Benbow Inn wasn't far from their apartment. There weren't any customers at the restaurant when Meg arrived. Sarah Hawkins, the owner, was organizing the menus when Meg walked in. 

"Hi, Megara!" Sarah greeted.

Meg smiled at her. "You can call me Meg."

Sarah nodded. "All right, Meg. We'll be opening pretty soon, so grab a tray and a ticket pad. If you have any questions our other waitress, Rapunzel, will be able to help you." She pointed at a girl about Meg's age, with a long blonde ponytail, who was tying a short, black apron around her waist.

"Hey, everyone!"

Meg turned around to see a pretty African American woman walk in.

"Hi, Tiana," Sarah greeted. "Tiana is our head cook."

"That's right!" Tiana said, proudly. She smiled at Meg. "Welcome to our family."

Meg smiled back at her. "Thank you."

They didn't have a lot of customers come in that afternoon, so it was easy for Meg to get the hang of everything. When it was the end of her shift, Meg put away her tray and ticket pad.

"Meg, before you leave can you just wipe down your tables real quick?" Sarah asked. "Usually my son does that, but I don't know where he is."

"No problem." Meg wiped down all of her tables, then clocked out.

When Meg got home, she pulled her tips out of her pocket and counted them. She only made ten dollars. Meg sighed. At least it would be enough to get dinner for her and Vanessa. She sat down on the couch and threw her money on the coffee table.

"I hate women!" Vanessa announced as she walked in the door.

Meg couldn't help but laugh. "Bad day?"

Vanessa plopped down next to Meg. "What was I thinking getting a job as a receptionist at a salon? I should have known I'd be dealing with catty customers all day."

"What are the girls you work with like?" Meg asked.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "All right, I guess. Jane, the owner, is a little high strung, but she's nice. The hair stylists, Giselle and Aurora, are overly sweet and that kind of bugs me. There's two nail techs; Belle is smart and nice, but she's also very opinionated. I like her. The other nail tech is Charlotte. She gets on my nerves; she gossips all the time and just won't stop talking. She's one of those girls who always has to be the center of attention, ya know. Then there's the shampoo girl, Ariel. Ugh! I don't like her at all. She doesn't talk much, but she's always humming and singing to herself. She also has the tendency to space out and not pay attention to what's going on around her; she's constantly getting in everyone's way."

Vanessa wasn't much of a people person and could always find something she didn't like about everyone she met. Meg was pretty anti-social and didn't like being around people either.

"How was your day?" Vanessa asked.

"Pretty slow; I only made ten bucks in tips." Meg pointed at the money on the coffee table.

Vanessa shrugged. "We can probably go to the store and buy a little bit of food for the next couple days."

Meg rested her head on the back of the couch. She couldn't believe she worked as hard as she did and only made ten dollars. Living on their own was going to be much harder than she thought.

_A/N: After re-reading this I realized it kinda sounded like this could be a femslash story, but it's not. Also, Vanessa's last name is Benson because Jodi Benson was her voice in the movie. Susan Egan did the voice for Meg, but I didn't like the sound of Meg Egan; so, I gave her the last name Sidney, which is just a slightly scrambled version of Disney._


	2. Chapter 2

"All right, no problem. See you then." Vanessa hung up the phone and penciled in a haircut appointment for Giselle. 

"Giselle, you have another appointment for tomorrow morning. Ten-thirty," Vanessa called out.

"Thanks, Vanessa!" Giselle responded.

The phone rang again and Vanessa reached over to answer it. "Jane's Salon, this is Vanessa."

"Vanessa? You're not the usual girl. What happened to Wendy?"

"She's not here, ma'am," Vanessa replied. "How can _I _help you?"

"I'd really rather talk to Wendy; she never messes up our appointments," the woman on the other end of the phone said. "When will she be in?"

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Wendy doesn't work here anymore. But, I assure you, I can schedule appointments just as well as she could."

The woman sighed loudly. "I suppose if I have no other choice. I would like to schedule a haircut appointment for myself with Aurora and manicure appointments for my two daughters. All for the same day and time."

Vanessa checked the schedule book. "Aurora, Belle and Charlotte are all free Friday at one o'clock. Will that work?"

The woman sighed again. "I suppose."

"What are your names?"

"My name is Lady Tremaine and my daughters are Anastasia and Drizella. Schedule Anastasia with Belle and Drizella with Charlotte."

Vanessa quickly jotted down the information. "All right, you're all set, Mrs. Tremaine."

"_Miss _Tremaine," Lady Tremaine corrected. "You really should learn who you're regular customers are."

"We'll see you on Friday, _Miss _Tremaine," Vanessa said, glancing up as two customers walked into the salon.

There was no response on the other end, telling Vanessa that Lady Tremaine had already hung up. Vanessa hung up the phone and looked back up at the girls standing in front of the desk.

"How can I help you?" Vanessa asked. 

The blonde girl gave Vanessa a sad smile. "You must have been talking to my step mom. She's pleasant, isn't she?"

Vanessa nodded. "Are you here with an appointment?"

The blonde nodded. "Yes, my name is Cinderella and I'm here to see Giselle."

"I'm here for an appointment with Charlotte," the dark haired girl said. "My name is Snow White."

Vanessa checked the schedule book and nodded. She turned around to see if Charlotte and Giselle were available. Charlotte was filing her nails and Giselle was blow drying someone's hair. Vanessa motioned for Ariel to come up to the desk.

"Charlotte is free if you wanna go over there," Vanessa said to Snow White. "Giselle is just finishing up with a guest, but Ariel will take you back to wash your hair."

Cinderella and Snow White smiled at Vanessa and walked away. Vanessa picked up her pencil and started doodling on the corner of the schedule book.

"Excuse me? Is this where I pay?"

Vanessa looked up. "Yes."

The lady handed Vanessa her card and Vanessa swiped it. She handed the receipt to the customer to sign.

"Thank you. Have a magical day," Vanessa said. She hated having to say that and always let a little sarcasm drip over the word "magical". Most of the customers didn't notice.

The lady smiled at Vanessa. "You, too!" she said.

Vanessa waited until the customer's back was to her before rolling her eyes.

"Have you seen the new waitress over at the Benbow Inn?" Vanessa heard Snow White say.

"No," Charlotte said. "I didn't know they had a new waitress there."

"Cinderella and I were just there for lunch," Snow White said. "I don't know _what _Sarah was thinking hiring her."

"Yeah," Cinderella chimed in. "Not only did she mess up our order, _twice, _but she also looks like a harlot."

"What happened to Rapunzel?" Aurora asked.

"Rapunzel is still there," Snow White said. "I think this new girl is replacing Alice."

"Well, whoever this new waitress is, she has to be better than Alice," Giselle said. "She would always forget about us as soon as she walked away from the table."

"What's her name?" Aurora asked.

"Um, Meg, I think," Cinderella said.

Vanessa's ears perked up at the mention of her friend's name. She swiveled her chair around to face the girls.

"She's new, of course she's going to mess up orders," Belle said, concentrating on applying nail polish to her customer's nail.

"Belle's right," Aurora agreed. "Everyone screws up at the beginning."

Snow White nodded. "Yeah, that's true. But, what's her excuse for looking like a tramp? I'm afraid to bring my husband back in there now."

"Are you afraid because you think Meg will try to steal him away or because you know he'll go willingly?" Vanessa demanded. "Don't use Meg as the scapegoat for your sexual insecurities."

Everyone stared at Vanessa.

Belle cleared her throat. "Vanessa, you shouldn't talk to our guests that way."

"Why not?" Vanessa asked. "They were just talking shi- _trash_ about my best friend. I have the right to defend her."

Snow White snickered. "Yeah, well, the customer is always right."

"The hell you are!" Vanessa shouted. "You have no idea what you're talking about. You're just jealous because she has the figure of a model and you have the figure of twelve-year-old girl. Being jealous does _not_ give you the right to judge, you flat-chested bitch!"

"Vanessa."

Vanessa turned around to see her boss, Jane, standing behind her. Vanessa looked down, but didn't apologize.

"Vanessa, I think you should take the rest of the day off to cool down," Jane said. "Come back tomorrow."

"What? You're not going to fire her for talking to a customer like that?" Cinderella asked.

"Vanessa was rude and out of line-" Jane shot Vanessa a dirty look- "but she wasn't wrong. She had every right to stand up for her friend. Her loyalty is exactly why she _isn't _getting fired. Maybe you could learn a thing or two about loyalty from her, Cinderella. Your friend was just under attack and you didn't say anything."

With that, Jane turned and walked back into her office. Vanessa quickly gathered up her stuff and headed out of the salon.

Meg was watching a movie when Vanessa got home. Meg looked up, surprised to see her.

"You're home early," Meg stated.

Vanessa nodded as she dropped her keys on the small table next to the door.

Meg paused the movie. "What happened?"

"These two girls came in and started insulting you saying you were an awful waitress and calling you a tramp. So, I snapped at them and called one of them a bitch." Vanessa shrugged. "Jane sent me home and told me to just come back tomorrow after I've cooled off."

Meg rolled her eyes in frustration. "Damn it, Vanessa, you gotta watch yourself. We really can't afford for you to lose your job."

"I didn't lose my job. Jane said my loyalty to you is what saved my job. She even insulted one of the customers." Vanessa went into the kitchen and got a bottle of water out of the fridge. "Although, she has that cute English accent, so it didn't really sound like an insult."

"That's not that point, Vanessa," Meg snapped. "We're on our own now. We really have to take these jobs-and everything else-seriously. We don't get to screw around anymore."

"Don't you even care that I was defending _you_?" Vanessa asked, sitting down on the couch.

"Of course I care. But, stupid gossip isn't worth you losing your job over," Meg said. "You're lucky Jane is so easy-going. Any other boss out there would have fired you on the spot."

"Do you wanna know which of your customers thinks you're a tramp?" Vanessa asked.

Meg slowly shook her head, but then smiled. "Sure."

"It was Snow White and Cinderella."

Meg laughed. "They're just jealous. Both of their men were staring at me the whole time."

Vanessa shook her head. "Men are so fickle. One minute they're telling you they love you, then the next minute they're checking out some girl who has bigger boobs than you."

"Men are pigs," Meg said.

Vanessa raised her bottle of water. "I'll drink to that."


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, girl!" Tiana greeted as Meg walked into the Benbow Inn. 

Meg smiled at her. "Hi, Tiana."

"Oh, hi, Meg," Sarah said.

Meg couldn't help noticing Sarah looked frantic. "What's wrong, Sarah?"

"Rapunzel usually works the night shift, but she called off today," Sarah said. "Meg, we're so short-handed, do you mind working a double shift tonight?"

"Not at all," Meg replied, tying her apron around her waist.

"Thank you!"

"Why don't you hire more waitresses?" Meg asked.

"I'm going to," Sarah said, holding up the stack of applications in her hands. "We just really can only train one person at a time."

Meg nodded as she put a ticket pad in the pocket of her apron. Before she could say anything, the door slammed open. Meg turned around to see a young man about Meg's age storm in.

"Jim!" Sarah cried. "Where have you been?"

Jim shrugged. "Nowhere."

"Jim, we really needed you the last couple days," Sarah said.

Jim shrugged again and went upstairs.

Sarah sighed in frustration. "I can't deal with this right now. Meg, if you can handle the shift tonight, I'm gonna start interviewing waitress tomorrow."

x…x…x…x…x

Meg collapsed into a booth and stretched out. It was just about closing time and she was completely exhausted. Being the only waitress, Meg hadn't been able to take a full break; just a couple minutes here and there. She was so glad she would be leaving soon. Her feet and lower back were in so much pain, she just wanted to take a long, hot bath.

Just then the bell above the door rang, signaling a customer had just walked in. Meg groaned as she got to her feet. As she walked towards the door, she saw Tiana roll her eyes through the order window. The restaurant was supposed to close in ten minutes and everyone had been ready to go home. Now they were all gonna be stuck there longer.

Meg was surprised to see the two men that were standing in front of the door. They were both pretty big guys; one had a scruffy face with long black hair pulled back in a ponytail. The other had red hair that fell over his shoulder and a bushy red beard. Meg could really only think of one way to describe them: bikers.

"Welcome to the Benbow Inn!" Meg greeted them in a forced cheery voice.

The red haired-man was looking around the restaurant while the dark-haired man was staring at Meg with an eyebrow raised. Meg felt uncomfortable with the way he was looking at her. She gave them a fake smile and led them to a table.

"I'll be back in just a couple minutes to take your orders," Meg said, setting menus down in front of the men.

Meg walked over to the order window and sighed as she dropped her chin in her hand.

"That guy with the black hair was checking you out when you walked away," Tiana said.

Meg rolled her eyes. "He's so gross. I really hope this doesn't take long."

Tiana laughed. "You and me both; I'm so ready to go home."

"I don't know how you can be here all day everyday," Meg said.

Tiana shrugged. "I'm the only cook Sarah has. It's not a big deal, though; I'm used to it. I've been here for a few years. At least I get to do what I love and get paid for it."

"Do you _like _working here?" Meg asked.

"I'd rather own my own restaurant," Tiana said. "But, Sarah is great to work for. I'm happy here."

"Yo, miss!"

Meg turned around to see the red-haired guy waving for her. She walked over to the table and smiled at them.

"Are you ready to order?" Meg asked.

"What's your name?" the dark-haired guys asked.

"My name is Meg." She started to point at her name tag like she usually did when she introduced herself, but she stopped. She really didn't want to draw anymore attention to her chest.

The dark-haired guy smiled at her. "My name is Ben and that's Lon."

"It's nice to meet you both," Meg said. "What can I get you guys?"

"Two double bacon cheeseburgers," Lon said.

Meg jotted down their order. "I'll go put this in right away. It shouldn't take long."

Meg started to walk away, but the dark haired guy grabbed her arm.

"What's your hurry?" Ben asked.

"Please let go of me," Meg said.

Ben let go of Meg's arm and she walked away.

"Two double bacon cheeseburgers," Meg told Tiana as she stuck the ticket in the order wheel.

Tiana gave her a smile and small salute before getting started on the burgers. Meg sat down at the counter, but was immediately called over by Ben. She groaned and went back over to their table.

"Hey, Meg," Ben said. "Me and Lon are new to town and were looking for a tour guide." He winked at her.

"I can't really help you with that," Meg said, no longer pretending to be friendly.

"We know there's a bar not too far from here," Ben said. "Why don't you let me buy you a drink after work?"

"I don't drink," Meg said.

Ben smiled at her. "We can find other things to do."

"No, thanks."

As Meg turned to walk away, Ben slapped her butt. Meg turned on her heel and glared at him. She slapped her palm on the table and leaned in real close to Ben.

"You are crude disgusting," Meg said. "I am _not_ interested in you. Don't ever touch me again or I _will _report you."

"Order up!" Tiana called out.

Meg narrowed her eyes at Ben, then went to go get their food.

"What happened over there?" Tiana asked.

"He totally just slapped my ass!" Meg replied.

Tiana looked appalled. "What a skeaze."

Meg picked up the plates and brought them to the table. She set them down and walked away without saying anything. Jim came downstairs then and went into the kitchen. He came back out with the bus tub and started cleaning up some stray dishes that were left on the tables.

"Keep an eye on those two," Tiana told Jim as brought the dirty dishes into the kitchen. "They've been harassing Meg."

Jim nodded as he grabbed a rag and a small bucket of soapy water. Meg adjusted her ponytail as she watched Jim wipe down the tables. Meg had to admit he was handsome.

"Meg, check please!" Lon called out.

Meg brought over the check and Lon handed her his card. Meg brought it back to the counter and swiped it. As she walked back to their table, she noticed Jim watching the men as he wiped down a nearby table. Lon signed the receipt, then the men stood up.

"I like a challenge." Ben threw a ten dollar bill on the table. "I'll be back."

The men walked out of the restaurant and Meg picked up the money. She was surprised to see they had left such a big tip. She stuck it in her pocket, then turned towards Jim.

"Do you want any help?" Meg asked him.

"Um. If you want, you can sweep while I finish the tables," Jim said.

Meg nodded and grabbed the broom. When she was about halfway done sweeping, Jim finished wiping the tables. He got the mop and started mopping where Meg had already swept.

"So, what was the deal with those guys?" Jim asked.

"They were just jerks," Meg said.

Jim nodded, but didn't say anything else. Meg finished sweeping, then put the broom back. Tiana came out from the kitchen, carrying two to-go containers.

"Here, Meg, I made a couple extra burgers for you and your friend," Tiana said. "They're on me; I know you girls are struggling."

Meg took the containers and gave Tiana a hug. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome, sweetie." Tiana ruffled Jim's hair as she walked passed him. "Good night, guys."

"Good night, Tiana," Meg said.

"Night," Jim muttered, running his hand over his hair.

Meg was just about to leave as well, but Sarah came downstairs.

"Oh, Meg, you're still here. Good," Sarah said. "I'm going to be interviewing girls tomorrow and will be hiring one to start on Friday. I need you to come in at your regular time tomorrow, but starting Friday you will be on the night shift with Rapunzel. I'll have the new waitress work the lunch shifts. Rapunzel will be training her over the weekend, so you'll be on your own for a couple nights, at first. Is that all right?"

Meg nodded. "That's no problem."

Sarah smiled at her. "Fantastic! Thank you so much for helping out tonight."

"You're welcome."

"Have a good night, dear. I'll see you tomorrow," Sarah said.

"Good night," Meg said. "Good night, Jim."

Jim looked up. "G'night."

Vanessa was sitting on the couch when Meg got home. She had her feet up on the coffee table and was eating a thing of cup-of-noodles. Meg's tips hadn't been very good so far, so they were buying dinners on a budget. Meg reached into her pocket and pulled out her tips from the day. She dropped the money on the table.

"Fifty dollars today," Meg said. "Starting Friday, I'm going to be working the night shift, so I should be making more tips. The dinner rush is better then the lunch rush."

"That's really good news," Vanessa said.

Meg set the to-go containers on the table. "Tiana also gave us a couple burgers."

Vanessa put down her soup and grabbed one of the containers. She opened it and took in the aroma. "Mmmm. Real food."

Meg joined Vanessa on the couch and they ate their dinner together.

_A/N: Ben and Lon are actual Disney characters from the movie "Pocahontas"._


	4. Chapter 4

"How are you doing today, Vanessa?" Jane asked, walking into the salon. 

"Just fine, thanks," Vanessa replied.

Jane was scrolling through her Blackberry and sipping on a latte from Starbucks. She nodded, then looked up at Vanessa.

"Vanessa, your opinion is always welcome here," Jane said, fumbling around in her purse. "Just... In the future try to refrain from calling a guest a bitch."

"I will."

Jane pulled out the keys to her office, then smiled at Vanessa. "Excellent! I'll be in my office if anybody needs me."

"All right." Vanessa watched Jane go into her office, then she slumped back in her chair. She was expecting Jane to be a lot harder on her. Still, Vanessa didn't want to push her luck; she would make an effort to watch what she said around the customers.

Charlotte walked over to Vanessa and bent over the desk.

"Girl, everyone is talking about how you called Snow White a bitch," Charlotte said.

Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "Everyone?"

Charlotte shrugged. "Well, everyone I've talked to since yesterday."

Vanessa nodded. "I see."

"Hopefully, you didn't scare Snow White and Cinderella off, though. They're good tippers," Charlotte said.

"I don't make tips, so I don't care," Vanessa stated.

Charlotte frowned. She started to say something, but the phone rang. Vanessa reached over and picked it up.

"Jane's Salon, this is Vanessa."

"Good afternoon, Vanessa. I need to set an appointment to get my nails done."

Vanessa was completely thrown off guard by the sultry voice on the other end. She took a second to recompose herself.

"All right. What day?" Vanessa asked.

"Saturday, please."

"Charlotte is available at two o'clock. Does that work?" Vanessa asked.

"Yes it does."

Vanessa picked up her pencil. "What's your name?"

"Jessica Rabbit."

Vanessa jotted down the information. "Okay. We'll see you then, Ms. Rabbit."

"Thank you, sweetie," Jessica said.

"Bye." Vanessa hung up the phone before Jessica could say anything else.

"Why did you set her up with _me?" _Charlotte squeaked.

Vanessa looked up at her. "Because Belle is booked all day Saturday."

Charlotte pouted. "Damn."

Vanessa rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Maybe if you were better at your job, you'd be all booked up on the weekends, too."

Charlotte didn't seem to hear Vanessa's comment. "I think I'm going to be sick on Saturday." She made a small fake coughing noise, then dramatically put the back of her hand against her forehead. She nodded. "Yup. I think I'm coming down with a fever."

"What's the big deal?" Vanessa asked.

"You don't know about Jessica Rabbit?" Charlotte asked in disbelief.

"No. I don't get caught up in stupid gossip," Vanessa replied.

Charlotte walked around to the other side of the desk and sat down on top of it. Vanessa wheeled her chair over to get away from her.

"Have you heard of the club _Kida_?" Charlotte asked.

"No."

"Well, there's this club downtown named for its owner, Kida. On weeknights it's just a regular night club. But, on Friday and Saturday nights they have burlesque shows that are run by Jessica Rabbit," Charlotte explained.

Charlotte didn't have to say anything else; it made sense to Vanessa now. In the small minds of the women she works with, "burlesque dancer" automatically translates into "stripper slut".

"It's just dancing," Vanessa said. She had never been to _Kida, _but she had gone to Las Vegas with her parents on vacation for a week when she was eighteen and saw a couple burlesque shows while she was there.

Charlotte looked at Vanessa like she was crazy. "It's _seductive_ dancing by women in their _underwear_."

Vanessa laughed. "They're in costumes, Charlotte. They're not just parading around in their underwear; it's not a Victoria's Secret fashion show."

Charlotte suddenly got really excited. "OMG! I love the VS fashion show!"

Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "Blondie, you're a freakin' contradiction."

"There's a big difference between the VS fashion show and a burlesque show," Charlotte stated.

"Yeah, burlesque dancers wear a lot more clothes," Vanessa said.

"Whatever." Charlotte hopped off the desk and went back to her table.

Girls never ceased to baffle Vanessa. On the one hand, they're all supportive of the Victoria's Secret commercials, catalogs and fashion shows. But, then they freak out when they see a girl dancing in a corset and fishnets. Why are they okay with seeing women in their underwear, but not in corsets? Vanessa shook her head; it didn't matter. She honestly didn't care what other people think about anything. But, part of Vanessa was somewhat curious to meet Jessica Rabbit. She was also thinking about checking out _Kida. _But, she didn't really want to go by herself. She could probably get Meg to go with her, though.

"Hey, Vanessa?"

Vanessa turned around to see Belle leaning over the small divider.

"Charlotte's complaining about having to work on Jessica," Belle said. "Can you switch our two o'clocks, please?"

Vanessa nodded. "No problem."

Vanessa turned back around and fixed the appointments.

"Thanks, Vanessa." Belle pushed off the wall and went back to her customer.

Vanessa sighed and tossed her pencil back on the desk. _This job is only temporary, _she told herself. _It's not a career._

"She's really not that bad."

Vanessa looked up as Jane approached the desk. "Jessica?"

Jane nodded. "She's not some bitchy slut or anything. She's actually very nice. All of her girls are, too. At least, the ones that come _here_ to get their hair and nails done. They're all regulars here, and tip really well. They've actually hired Giselle a couple times to make their costumes. Charlotte and Aurora don't really like them and Ariel is intimidated by them. I think Belle just treats them like anther guest. It's always all business with Belle."

Vanessa nodded. "Yeah, Jessica didn't sound like a bitch on the phone."

Jane smiled at Vanessa. "Don't believe everything you hear from Charlotte."

Vanessa laughed. "I don't."

"I'm glad you're not judgmental, Vanessa. You're turning out to have much better character than I originally thought," Jane said. "Hiring you wasn't a bad idea, after all."


	5. Chapter 5

"Do you know anything about the new waitress?" Meg asked Jim as they cleaned up the Inn.

"Her name is Mulan," Jim said. "That's all I know."

Meg nodded. She knelt down to sweep up the small pile of dirt into the dustpan. She dumped the dustpan in the garbage can, then grabbed a rag and started wiping down the tables as Jim cleared them.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Meg observed.

"I don't have anything of worth to say," Jim said.

"I doubt that," Meg said.

"It's true. Just ask my mom, or Tiana, or anybody else who's ever come into the Inn." Jim picked up the bus bin and moved on to the next table.

"What do you mean?" Meg asked, hoping to get him to talk more.

"My mom is too busy to listen to me; except when I'm in trouble. But, then she won't let me talk. Tiana sees me as just a kid and doesn't take me seriously. And everyone else thinks I'm a delinquent," Jim explained.

"_Are _you a delinquent?" Meg asked, amused that people were actually judging Jim by his appearance.

Jim shrugged, but didn't say anything.

Meg raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You don't seem like the type of person who would get arrested."

Jim turned towards Meg and smiled at her. "You're the first person to think that."

"Yeah, well, I've known a lot guys who've been arrested," Meg said.

Jim continued clearing the tables, but didn't say anything for a few minutes. After they finished the tables, Jim started mopping the floor. Meg wiped down the counter, then sat down on one of the stools.

"I've never been arrested," Jim said as he mopped the floor next to Meg. "My dad's a cop, so whenever I get busted for something, the cops just bring me home with a warning."

"Then your mom completely overreacts, right?" Meg guessed.

"Yup."

Meg nodded. "Yeah, parents are like that."

Jim stopped cleaning the floor and leaned on the mop's handle. "What are your parents like?"

"Oh. Well, my parents are divorced. My dad is a mechanic. I don't know what my mom does; she left my dad for another guy right after I was born. She terminated all of her parental rights towards me. I never met her," Meg said. "It's just been my dad and me my whole life."

"I'm sorry to hear about your mom. I know it's tough," Jim said. "My dad left when I was a kid. He still lives in town, but I can't remember the last time I actually saw him."

"Is that why you act out?" Meg asked.

Jim shook his head. "My mom thinks I do it to get my dad's attention. Truth is, I do it to embarrass him. My dad can't stand the humiliation of having his own son getting arrested."

Meg laughed. "Serves him right."

Jim started mopping again. "My mom gets stressed out when I get in trouble, but I know she secretly hopes that if it keeps up then my dad will think he needs to spend more time with me and he'll come back."

Meg tilted her head to the side. "Are you this open with all the new waitresses?"

Jim looked at her and she smiled at him to show she was just giving him a hard.

"Actually, I'm not this open with anyone." Jim leaned the mop against the wall. "I should get upstairs"

"I enjoyed talking to you," Meg called after him as he started walking upstairs.

Jim stopped and came back downstairs.

Meg smiled at him. "What you have to say is worth a lot more than you think."

Jim actually looked happy briefly, but it quickly faded. "Don't get used to it."

Meg jumped down from the stool and walked over to Jim. "Why not?"

Jim crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the railing. "Because you don't actually care. You're just pretending to be interested so you look like you're different than everybody else. But, you're not."

Jim's response took Meg off guard. "You're wrong, Jim. I _do _care and I am genuinely interested. But, thanks for judging me. Looks like _you're _the one who's just like everyone else."

Meg turned on her heel and walked out of the Inn. She hadn't actually been offended; she understood where Jim was coming from. But, she did want to prove a point.

"Meg, wait!" Jim called after her.

Meg smiled to herself as Jim ran after her. She stopped and turned around.

"I'm sorry, Meg," Jim said.

"It's all right."

Jim awkwardly ran his hand through his hair. _He's so handsome, _Meg thought.

"Um, Jim? Do you mind walking me home?" Meg asked. "It's not far, but I feel a little uncomfortable walking in the dark alone."

Jim nodded. "Sure."

"Thank you."

Meg really didn't need Jim to walk her home. It wasn't a long walk and she enjoyed walking alone in the dark. She actually preferred to be alone in general. She had been hurt by so many people that it was better to be alone. But, there was something different about Jim. She didn't know what it was, but she found herself wanting to spend as much time with him as she could.

"This is it," Meg said when they reached her apartment complex.

"That was only a couple blocks," Jim said.

Meg nodded. "I appreciate you walking me home."

"It was no problem."

"Good night, Jim. I'll see you tomorrow."

Meg hesitated, but started walking towards the entrance of her building. Jim reached out and took her hand. He pulled her back towards him and kissed her. Meg was in shock and didn't kiss him back at first. But then she closed her eyes and returned the kiss. Someone cleared their throat and they pulled apart. Vanessa was standing next to them, holding the mail.

"Um, Jim, this is my best friend, Vanessa," Meg said. "Vanessa, this is Jim. He, uh, he's my boss's son."

Vanessa eyed Jim. "Well, you've certainly done worse, Meg." And, with that, she went inside."

"I am _so _sorry about that," Meg said.

"It's no big deal," Jim said. "I shouldn't have just kissed you like that."

"Yeah, why _did _you kiss me?" Meg asked.

"I thought you wanted me to," Jim said. "You asked me to walk you home, even though you obviously didn't _need _me to. You only live a couple blocks from the Inn and you're definitely tough enough to be able to care of yourself. Plus, you hesitated before going inside."

Meg smiled at him. "Well, I certainly hope you do it again sometime. Good night, Jim."

"Night, Meg." Jim turned and walked away.

When Meg was back up in her apartment, she leaned back against the door and sighed; completely unaware of the annoyed look Vanessa was giving her.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hello, Vanessa," Jane greeted as she walked into the salon. She was distracted by something on her phone, as usual. "Today is Ariel's day off, so I need you to take over her duties." 

Vanessa rolled her eyes, but when Jane looked up at her, she smiled. "Sure. No problem."

"I trust the girls showed you how to shampoo hair and all that during your training," Jane said.

"Yeah."

"Terrific!" Jane glanced back down at her phone, then went into her office.

"I wonder what she's always doing on the phone," Vanessa muttered.

"Talking to Tarzan."

Vanessa jumped. She hadn't been expecting anyone to answer her. She turned around to see Belle standing behind her.

"Who's Tarzan?" Vanessa asked.

"Her boyfriend," Belle replied. "They're in a long-distance relationship. They're always texting and emailing each other."

"Long-distance relationships never work," Vanessa said. "That's why I broke up with my boyfriend, Eric, when Meg and I moved here."

"I don't know," Belle said. "Jane has been with Tarzan for a year. I think they'll make it."

Vanessa shrugged. "Whatever."

Vanessa spent the rest of the morning shampooing hair and sweeping the salon after each customer. In the early afternoon, Aurora and Giselle had an hour free, so they left for lunch. Vanessa grabbed a broom and started sweeping up the hair from their last customers. That's when the song "_For Your Entertainment" _by Adam Lambert came on the radio.

Vanessa squealed. "I love this song!"

Vanessa started singing along with the song and dancing with the broom like it was a pole. Charlotte turned up the song, then went back to her customer. Belle just shook her head and set up her station.

"Why did the music suddenly get louder?" Jane asked, coming out of her office. When she saw Vanessa's little show, she laughed. She danced over to Vanessa and started singing along.

"_OH! I bet you thought that I was soft and sweet! You thought an angel swept you off your feet!_" Vanessa and Jane sang. "_But, I'm about to turn up the heat! I'm here for your entertainment!_"

When the song ended, someone started slowly clapping. Vanessa looked up to see a tall woman with long red hair standing by the front desk.

"Hi, Jessica," Jane greeted.

"Hello, Jane," Jessica Rabbit said. "And you must be Vanessa."

Vanessa nodded. "Yeah."

"You're quite the performer, Vanessa," Jessica said.

Vanessa laughed. "Not really. There's just some songs that I really get into."

"I'm all ready for you, Jessica," Belle said.

Jessica walked over to Belle. Vanessa couldn't help but watch her. Everything Jessica did was so graceful and seductive. Vanessa felt slightly envious of Jessica.

"That was fun," Jane said.

Vanessa laughed. "Yeah, it was. I had no idea you were an Adam Lambert fan."

Jane smiled and shrugged. "There's a lot you don't know about me."

Jane's phone went off. She pulled it out of her pocket and giggled. "I gotta take this..." She turned and walked away.

Vanessa went back to sweeping. When she was done, she headed back to the front desk and sat down. Aurora and Giselle walked back in a couple minutes later.

"How was lunch?" Vanessa asked them.

"Good," Aurora replied. "We went to Subway."

"Hi, Giselle," Jessica said, walking over to the desk.

"Good afternoon, Jessica!" Giselle greeted. "How have you been?"

"Wonderful," Jessica replied. "Although, it looks like I may need your services again."

Giselle smiled. "Of course! Anytime."

Jessica nodded. "Can you come in Wednesday night?"

"Sure."

Aurora scowled at Jessica and walked away.

Giselle shook her head. "Don't worry about her."

"I never do. I'm used to that response," Jessica said.

"Well, I have get back to work," Giselle said. "I'll see you on Wednesday."

"Take care, dear," Jessica said. She walked around to the front of the desk and set her clutch on it. She dug out her wallet, then handed Vanessa some cash.

Vanessa rang her up and then handed her the change. Jessica gave Belle her tip, then came back over to Vanessa.

"You're not like most girls, are you?" Jessica asked Vanessa.

"Not really," Vanessa replied.

Jessica nodded. "You don't judge people. And you're not afraid to put yourself out there. I like that in a girl."

"Um... Thanks." Vanessa wasn't sure how to take that last comment.

"I'll see you around," Jessica said as she walked out of the salon.

"Yeah," Vanessa muttered.

x…x…x…x…x

"Maybe she bats for the other team," Meg said after Vanessa told her what happened with Jessica. Meg had just gotten home from work and was sitting in the bathroom waiting for the shower to warm up.

Vanessa leaned against the door frame. "Or both teams."

Meg stuck her hand in the water. "Ugh! It's still cold. Stupid thing takes forever to warm up... Anyways, don't read too much into it. She sounds like the kind of woman who flirts with everyone."

Vanessa nodded and thought for a moment. "Do you want to check out the club tonight?"

"Finally," Meg muttered when the water finally warmed up. She slipped off her robe and got into the shower. "We can't afford the cover charge," Meg said to Vanessa.

"We can if we don't eat dinner tonight," Vanessa said.

Meg laughed. "It's good to know where your priorities are."

"Oh, c'mon, Meg, aren't you curious about the place?" Vanessa asked.

"Sure I am. But, I like eating," Meg said.

"Please, Meg?"

Meg sighed loudly. "Fine."

"Yes!" Vanessa hurried into the bedroom and started going through her clothes. She decided to wear a pair of skinny jeans and a black halter top.

Meg didn't really feel like dressing for the occasion, and just put on a pair of ripped jeans and a purple off-the-shoulder top. The girls got into Vanessa's car and headed to _Kida. _The outside of the building wasn't much to look at. It was just a plain brick building with a blue neon light that said _'Kida'. _The girls went inside and stood in line at the small box office. There was a petite blonde girl wearing a really short green dress behind the window. Vanessa wondered if she was one of the dancers.

"Welcome to _Kida,_" the blonde said.

"Hi. Are you one of the dancers?" Vanessa asked her as Meg paid for them to get in.

The blonde laughed. "No. I just work the box office. You obviously haven't been here before."

"Nope," Meg said.

"Well, welcome. My name is Tinkerbell," the blonde said. "How did you hear about us?"

"I work at Jane's Salon. Jessica Rabbit came in to get her nails done this afternoon," Vanessa responded.

Tinkerbell nodded. "Well, you're in for quite a show."

Vanessa and Meg sat down at one of the tables just as the lights were dimming. The large red curtain was pulled aside to reveal a stage. The stage had a small staircase set up on either side of it and an arch in the back center. Music started, the spotlights turned from white to blue and started strobing. Two girls with tan skin and black hair slowly walked down the stairs. They were wearing matching red corsets, red short shorts over black fishnets and black high heels. One girl had her long hair pulled back in a low ponytail and the other had her hair down with a red ribbon headband. The girls met center stage and were joined by a few other girls all wearing the same outfit. A woman started singing from off stage. Suddenly, a platform rose out of the stage, under the arch. An Angeline Jolie-type woman with long blonde hair was standing on the platform, singing. She was wearing the same out fit as the other girls, but in all white. Vanessa watched the show in amazement. Their performance was way better than the ones she had seen in Las Vegas. Each girl danced with a seduction that could easily pull in men and women.

When the show was over, Vanessa and Meg made their way out of the club.

"That was amazing," Vanessa said as she unlocked the car.

"They were really good," Meg admitted.

"I want to do that," Vanessa said.

Meg laughed. "Good luck with that."

_A/N: I do not own the song "For Your Entertainment" by Adam Lambert._


	7. Chapter 7

"What about some ice cream?" Vanessa asked as she pushed the cart down the frozen food aisle.

It was Sunday night and Meg finally had a night off, so she and Vanessa were using this opportunity to do their grocery shopping.

Meg wrinkled her nose. "We don't have enough for ice cream _and _popcorn."

Vanessa sighed. "Fine. We'll get ice cream next time."

Meg swung open one of the freezer doors and grabbed a couple pizzas. Since they still weren't making very much money, they had been pretty much living on frozen pizzas.

Vanessa groaned. "I'm so sick of pizza."

"We could always go back to our Ramen Noodle diet," Meg said, dropping the pizzas in the cart.

As they continued down the aisle, something caught Vanessa's eye and she reached into one of the freezers. "What about these?"

Vanessa was holding a box of store brand fish patties. They actually weren't too expensive. "Well, if we put the pizzas back we can get those," Meg said.

Vanessa lit up. She threw the pizzas back into the freezer and put the fish in the cart. They got some buns to make fish sandwiches and some pasta noodles and sauce to also go along with the fish. They then grabbed a few boxes of macaroni and cheese and headed to the check-out. They just barely had enough money for the groceries. Meg sighed as she handed over the rest of her tips from the weekend.

When they got back to the apartment Meg started making dinner while Vanessa put away the groceries.

"This sucks," Vanessa said, sitting on the counter. "I really hope someday we can actually afford groceries."

Meg laughed. "Yeah, that'd be nice." While the noodles for the macaroni and cheese were cooking, she put a couple fish patties in the oven. "You wanna pick out a movie?"

Vanessa nodded and jumped off the counter. When the dinner was ready, Meg prepared their plates and brought them out to the living room. Vanessa was sitting on the couch with her feet propped up on the coffee table. Meg handed Vanessa her plate and then sat down next to her.

"What did you pick?" Meg asked.

"_Interview With a Vampire,_" Vanessa said.

Meg laughed. "Again?"

Vanessa shrugged as she scooped some macaroni and cheese in her mouth. "This is the only movie where I find Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt attractive. Watching it makes me feel normal; like every other girl out there."

Meg raised an eyebrow. "Right. I'm sure _that's _the reason and it has absolutely nothing to do with your celebrity crush on Antonio Banderas."

Vanessa laughed. "He _is _a sexy beast."

"_Vampires _are sexy beasts," Meg said.

"Hence why we watch this movie every week," Vanessa said.

The girls ate their dinner as they watched the movie. Every once in a while they'd quote the movie along with it, laughing if they messed up the line or if their timing was off. When the movie was over, Vanessa turned it off and slumped back. Meg picked up their plates and brought them into the kitchen. They couldn't afford to get a dishwasher, so they had to wash all their dishes by hand. Meg began washing their plates and Vanessa came in to help her dry. Meg then grabbed her cooking dishes and began washing them.

"So, what's going on with you and Jim?" Vanessa asked.

Meg blushed. "Nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing," Vanessa said. "You were grinning like an idiot when you came inside afterwards."

Meg ignored Vanessa and pretended to concentrate on washing the pot. She was interrupted, however, when Vanessa snapped the towel against her leg. Meg yelped and dropped the pot.

"Vanessa!" Meg cried.

Vanessa gave her an expectant look, but didn't say anything.

Meg groaned. "Fine! I like Jim. But, I don't know if he actually likes me back. He said he kissed me because he thought I wanted him to."

"Meg, I don't think he would have kissed you if he didn't want to," Vanessa said.

"I don't know. He doesn't _seem _interested in me," Meg said. "He always acts indifferent around me."

"So, what are you gonna do?" Vanessa asked as Meg handed her the pot.

"I think I'm gonna wait to see what he does."

Vanessa shook her head. "No. He totally put himself out there by kissing you like that. _You_ have to make the next move."

"Okay. So, then, what should I do?" Meg asked.

Vanessa shrugged. "Something to show him that you're interested in him and that it's okay for him to kiss you again."

"I guess I could ask him to walk me home again," Meg said.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Please don't. I don't want to see you two making out again. I really don't want to be reminded that you have a man and I don't."

Meg finished the dishes and started wiping down the sink. "I'll think of something else, then."

"Thanks." Vanessa dropped the towel on the counter and walked away.

Meg crossed through the living room and went out on their small balcony. They were lucky enough to get a view of the back courtyard instead of the parking lot. Meg leaned over the railing and rested her chin in her hand. The truth was: she couldn't get Jim off her mind. He had skipped work the night before, so she hasn't seen him since he kissed her. What if he was going to continue to avoid her? Meg didn't want things to be awkward between them, but she also really want to be more than just friends with him. Granted, she didn't know him very well, but he was so handsome and that kiss had completely blown her mind. Meg suddenly got an idea. She pulled out her phone and checked the time. They'd just be closing up at the Inn. Meg quickly headed back inside.

"Vanessa!" Meg called out. "I'm going out for a while."

"Whatever," Vanessa called from the bedroom.

Meg hurried out of the apartment and made her way to the Benbow Inn. When she walked in, Jim was wiping down the tables while Rapunzel was sweeping.

"Hi, Meg!" Rapunzel greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I actually need to talk to Jim," Meg replied. "I'll finish sweeping if you give us a few minutes alone."

Rapunzel shrugged and handed the broom to Meg. Meg waited for Rapunzel to disappear in the back before approaching Jim.

"Can I talk to you?" Meg asked.

"Sure," Jim mumbled.

"I, uh, enjoyed our walk back to my apartment Friday night," Meg said.

Jim shrugged and moved on to the next table.

Meg tilted her head to the side and leaned against the broom. "Why did you kiss me?"

"I told you: I thought you wanted me to."

"Was that the only reason?" Meg asked as she started sweeping.

Jim didn't respond, so Meg leaned over the table he was cleaning. Jim finally looked at her and she smiled at him.

"Would you kiss me again if I wanted you to?" Meg asked. She didn't wait for him to answer before she continued. "Because I want you to. But, I only want you to kiss me if _you _want to." Meg rested the broom against one of the tables and started walking away. "Your move, Hawkins."

Meg had just made it out the door, when Jim grabbed her. He pinned her against the building and stared into her eyes. Meg felt her heart racing and she took a deep breath, trying to calm it.

"What kind of game are you playing?" Jim asked.

The question completely took Meg by surprise. "I'm not playing any game."

"Then what are you doing here?" Jim asked. "And be honest."

"I like you, Jim."

It was Jim's turn to look surprised. "You do?"

Meg smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I do."

Jim slowly slid his hand behind Meg's neck. He gently stroked her cheek with his thumb, then lowered his mouth to hers. Meg sighed. Jim leaned against her as he kissed her more intensely. Meg desperately gripped his shirt to keep him from pulling away.

"Meg," Jim whispered, his lips brushing over hers. "I have to go back inside."

Meg nodded and let go of his shirt. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow night."

"Yeah. Night, Meg."

"Good night, Jim."


	8. Chapter 8

Vanessa sat at the front desk of Jane's Salon, tapping her pencil on the schedule book. It was a rainy Monday morning and all she could think about was going back to bed. She was envious that Meg worked the night shift and was still sleeping. Vanessa sighed. She had to admit she was also slightly jealous of Meg's love life. Meg had told her what happened the night before with Jim and Vanessa couldn't help wishing she had someone who wanted to kiss her. She leaned forward and rested her chin in her hand. Just then Jane walked in. She had her usual latte in hand, but no phone this time. Jane took off her hat and shook her hair free.

"Ghastly weather," Jane said.

Vanessa nodded, but didn't say anything. She wasn't really in the mood for conversing. Jane set her hat on top of Vanessa's desk, then pulled her Blackberry out of her purse.

"How are you this morning?" Jane asked Vanessa.

"You don't want to know," Vanessa muttered.

Jane nodded. "How does our day look?"

"Belle and Charlotte are with their only customers for the day now. Aurora and Giselle don't have any customers scheduled for today," Vanessa replied, not looking at the schedule. She had been so bored for the last hour that she had just been staring at the schedule book.

Jane checked the time on her brown leather watch. "It's nine o'clock now, if we're still slow come eleven, you can go home early."

"Thanks." Vanessa had mix feelings about leaving early. On the one hand, she really didn't want to be at work. But, on the other hand, she really needed the money.

Jane gave a quick wave to the other girls before going into her office. After Belle and Charlotte's customers left, the four girls wandered towards the front of the salon to hang out with Vanessa. Normally, this would annoy Vanessa, but she was so bored that she was glad to have something to occupy her time. Charlotte jumped up to sit on the edge of Vanessa's desk, while Belle, Aurora and Giselle sat down on the waiting chairs.

"How was your night, Vanessa?" Belle asked.

Vanessa shrugged. "Fine. Meg was off last night so we stayed in and watched a movie."

Just then, the front door burst open and Ariel walked in. She was soaking wet from the rain and her hair was clinging to her face. Vanessa quietly groaned to herself. She had been hoping that Ariel wouldn't come in at all. Ariel grabbed a towel, then sat down and started drying herself off.

"It's crazy out there," Ariel said.

Vanessa glanced outside and saw that it was raining a lot harder than it had been when she came in an hour and a half ago. A sudden bolt of lightening snaked across the sky. The lights in the salon flickered, then went out.

"Bloody hell!" Jane hissed from her office. She came out and joined the rest of the girls.

"Were you in the middle of writing an email to Tarzan?" Aurora asked.

Jane nodded as she sat down next to Belle. "It might be an early day, girls. I don't see anyone braving this weather to get their hair or nails done."

It was then that Jessica Rabbit walked in. She, too, was soaking wet but instead of looking like a drowned rat like Ariel did, she looked like she just came from a photo shoot. As she walked over to the front desk, Charlotte jumped down and walked over to the other girls. Jessica didn't seem to notice the looks Charlotte and Aurora were giving her.

"Good morning, Jessica!" Jane greeted.

"Morning, dear," Jessica said. She turned to Vanessa and smiled at her. "I saw you at _Kida _other night."

Vanessa nodded. "It was a really good show."

"Thank you. But, I think the show needs a little something more." Jessica leaned forward. "I've been thinking about your _'For Your Entertainment' _performance and I would like you to come in and audition for me."

Vanessa couldn't help but get excited. "Really? I'd love to!"

Jessica smiled. "Great. Come in Wednesday night."

With that Jessica turned and left. The girls all watched Jessica leave then turned to look at Vanessa.

"Don't do it!" Charlotte said. "You don't want to be one of her tramps."

"Charlotte, please," Jane said.

"No, Jane, Lottie's right," Aurora said. "Vanessa, you don't need to belittle yourself like that."

"Have you ever _seen _their show?" Vanessa snapped. "Those girls are really talented. Who are you to judge them?"

"Ya know, they work really hard on their performances," Giselle added.

"Oh, please, how hard is it to shake your ass at a bunch of men?" Charlotte asked, as she started filing her nails.

"That's not what they do," Ariel said, quietly.

"You've been there?" Aurora asked in surprise. Vanessa had to admit she was a little surprised, too.

Ariel nodded. "Yeah, my best friend works the box office there."

"You're friends with Tinkerbell?" Vanessa asked.

"Yes. We've been friends since first grade. I've seen the shows quite a few times," Ariel replied.

"I'm kinda disappointed in you, Ariel," Aurora said.

"All right, girls, that's enough," Jane interjected, not looking up from her Blackberry. "I will not tolerate you judging and putting each other down."

"I'm sorry, Ariel," Aurora said.

Ariel nodded. "It's okay."

"It looks like this rain isn't going to let up," Jane said. "We're gonna go ahead and close up for the day."

Everyone gathered up their stuff and headed out of the salon. They all hurried towards their cars.

"Vanessa!"

Vanessa turned around to see Giselle running towards her, clutching her umbrella. When she reached Vanessa, she held the umbrella over both of them.

"What's up, Giselle?" Vanessa asked.

"I'm going to _Kida _Wednesday night, too, do you want me to give you a ride?" Giselle asked.

Vanessa smiled at her. "That would be great. Thank you."

Giselle nodded. She continued to hold her umbrella over Vanessa until she was in her car, then waved and hurried to her own car. Vanessa was glad Giselle was on her side with all this. It was nice to have someone who understood her.


	9. Chapter 9

"Good night, girls," Sarah said as she locked up the Inn. She stuck the key in her pocket and went upstairs. 

Meg and Rapunzel were sitting at the counter refilling the salt and pepper shakers and all of the ketchup and mustard bottles. Jim was taking care of his regular cleaning duties. As Rapunzel talked her ear off, Meg stole quick glances at Jim. He was careful not to look at her, though. They had agreed it'd be best if Sarah didn't find out about their... romance? Meg wasn't sure exactly how to categorize what was going on between them. But she liked it, whatever it was.

"I'm not staying here forever," Rapunzel said. "Someday I'm gonna get out of this town and have a real adventure."

"Mmhmm." Meg nodded as she poured salt into one of the shakers. Rapunzel was a sweet girl, but Meg didn't really have any interest in being friends with her. She was just a little too perky and talkative for her.

Meg watched Jim out of the corner of her eye. He was bent over a table, wiping it down. His brown hair fell over his face and Meg couldn't help thinking how cute he looked. Meg smiled to herself. _Jim would get mad if I ever actually called him cute, _she thought. Even though Jim was the same age as Meg, he looked a lot younger. Physically, the two of them looked slightly awkward together. But, their personalities were so compatible and they had a lot in common.

A loud spurt caused Meg to look away from Jim and over at Rapunzel. When she was refilling the ketchup bottle, it had squirted out and missed the bottle. Rapunzel now had a large amount of ketchup on her hand. Rapunzel blushed as she grabbed a napkin.

"You know what many people don't know, is that ketchup is also a really good moisturizer," Rapunzel said.

"What are you talking about?" Meg asked.

Rapunzel blushed again. "That's a line from the show _Hannah Montana. _Miley said it to Corbin Bleu when..." When she noticed the look Meg was giving her, she stopped. "Never mind."

When they were done, they clocked out and Rapunzel hurried out of the Inn. Meg hung back to hang out with Jim.

"You wanna walk me home?" Meg asked Jim.

"Sure."

The two of them headed out of the Inn and started walking down the street. When they were far enough from the Inn, Meg reached over and took Jim's hand. Jim smiled at her, then pulled her off the road and behind a tree. Meg barely had enough time to register what was going when Jim leaned down and kissed her.

"I've been waiting for that all night," Meg said when they finally pulled apart.

"Me too," Jim said, kissing her again.

Jim wrapped his arms tightly around Meg and pinned her against the tree. Meg gently pulled away.

"Jim, what's going on between us?" Meg asked.

"What do you mean?" Jim asked.

"Well, are we in a relationship?"

Jim frowned. "I think it's a little early to be putting labels on us."

"Oh." Meg would be lying if she said that answer wasn't disappointing.

"I like you, Meg," Jim continued. "But, it's kinda hard to carry on a relationship when we have to keep it a secret from everyone."

Meg nodded. Of course she understood Jim's point, and she didn't even mind the sneaking around. She just wanted to know that Jim was somewhat serious about her and wasn't hooking up with other girls at the same time.

Jim leaned forward and kissed Meg again. Meg sighed, thankful for the distraction.

x…x…x…x…x

When Meg finally got back to the apartment, she found Vanessa asleep in their bed. He phone was laying on her pillow next to her and she was surrounded by Kleenexes with eyeliner smudges all over them. Meg looked sympathetically down at her best friend as she picked up the tissues. There was no doubt in Meg's mind that Vanessa had gotten into another argument with her mother. The two of them fought every time they talked to each other. They were both very stubborn and short-tempered, so it was inevitable that an argument would start over anything they talked about.

Meg plugged the charger into Vanessa's phone, then set the alarm before putting it on her nightstand. Meg changed into her pajamas, then squeezed into the bed next to Vanessa. She propped herself up on her elbow and gently brushed the hair off Vanessa's face. Vanessa stirred, then opened her eyes and glared at Meg; she was always grumpy when she first woke up.

"What happened?" Meg asked her.

Vanessa rolled onto her back and moved over to give Meg more room on the bed. "My mom decided she needed to tell me yet again how much of a failure I am because I'm only working part-time. She said I need to quit my receptionist job and find a 'real' job." She made air quotes around the word real.

"Ya know, the nice thing about living on your own is that your mother no longer has any say in what you do," Meg said, trying to comfort her friend. But, she knew that Mrs. Benson was just looking out for Vanessa. Of course, she probably could go about it a different way, but her intentions were good.

Vanessa groaned in agreement as she started to fall asleep. Meg rolled over and pulled the sheet up over her shoulders. She couldn't help letting her mind wander to thoughts of Jim. She wondered if there were would ever be a time when they wouldn't have to keep their secret from everyone. They probably wouldn't have to keep it a secret if Meg no longer worked at the Inn. Meg sighed. She couldn't leave the Inn; it would be too hard for her to find another job. Plus, she really liked the job and everyone she worked with. The money wasn't great, but at least she was working full-time and she knew once she got a little better at her job, she'd be making more tips.

Meg snuggled further under the blanket. For now, things between her and Jim were good. After all, he was right: it was too early to put a label on anything. Meg decided she was okay with just letting things play out and seeing where they go.


End file.
